30 before 30

 Today I am 25... I have lived a quarter of a century. To me age is simply a number so I welcome and celebrate each and every birthday (maybe I say that now), and I have certainly enjoyed my 25 years... but am looking forward to the next 25. Where will I be? What will I be doing? I can't even venture a guess, for the next few years as I complete my degree are very up in the air... but I look forward to finishing my 20s in style.

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Here are 30 things that I would love to tick off before I reach my next decade:

{Do}

{ 1. } Make a signature cocktail (Champagne + St. Germain)

{ 2. } Find my perfect shade of red lipstick (Nars "Heat Wave)

{ 3. } Have a progressive dinner party

{ 4. } Re-learn how to knit

{ 5. } Define my style aesthetic (working on it here)

{ 6. } Invest in a classic handbag (December 2013 - this MK one)

{ 7. } Learn to french braid my hair

{ 8. } Complete my Ph.D. (Graduated with my Masters January 2014)

{ 9. } Start stretching... I want to be able to do the splits again! 

{ 10. } Ride in a hot air balloon (29th Birthday, see evidence on Instagram here & here!)

{via}

{See}

{ 11 .} Visit NYC (completed June 2013)

{ 12. } Party in Vegas (Bachelorette Party, 2015)

{ 13. } Play in Disney Land (completed during our 2016 road trip - evidence on Instagram here)

{ 14. } Travel to all 50 states (21 more to go! Over half way there!)

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

{ 15. } Attend a real life fashion show (Nashville Fashion Week, 2014)

{ 16. } Go back home for my 10 year high school reunion 

{ 17. } Go back to Europe (maybe with Ty !?)

{ 18. } Take a road trip with Ty to Oregon (Instagram evidence here)

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{Live}

{ 19. } Learn all the constellations
{ 20. } Read 20 new books (passed the mark & still going!)
See my Summer 2015 Reading List + Reviews here

{1. The Paris Wife 2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? 3. Little Bee 4. Bel Canto 5. Truth & Beauty (highly recommend!) 6. Where'd You Go Bernadette 7. The 5 Love Languages 8. Gone Girl (messed up, in the best possible way) 9. The Fault In Our Stars (if in need of a beautiful cry, dispatch this book) 10. Hyperbole and a Half (SO my humor, I laughed so hard I might have tinkled a little bit) 11. The Goldfinch 12. All the Light We Cannot See (beautifully heart wrenching) 13. Bossypants (I think Tiny Fey is my spirit animal) 14. The Girls of Atomic City (an interesting historical non-fiction read, especially if you are from/live-in Tennessee) 15. Grace, A Memoir (MAN! She has lived the life, loved getting a peek behind the front row of fashion) 16. Room (such a gripping story - haven't seen the movie  yet, but it is on my list!) 17. The Night Circus (strangely beautiful, transported me to a different time) 18. Me Before You (I dare you to read this and not cry!) 19. Modern Lovers (I love the characters & their individual story lines in this) 20. The Woman in Cabin 10 (Being my anxious self, I read the last page of this book & it still took me for such a twisting ride!) 21. In a dark, dark wood (perfectly dark and suspenseful) … }

{ 21. } Find a church that I enjoy going to (gave up on this one, but found a new respect for nature here in Colorado)

{ 22. } Get plugged into regularly volunteering (Realized that as a teacher, my job is also a LOT of volunteering)

{ 23. } Finally stop biting/chewing my cuticles (January 2014 thank goodness for wedding planning and gel manicures!)

{ 24. } Live outside of the South (even if for just a little bit!) (Moved to Denver, Colorado Summer 2016)
{ 25. } Color my hair (I've always wanted to be a red head)  January 2013

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{Blog}

{ 26. } Get a custom design for my site  Completed October 2012

{ 27. } Have a blogger meetup  First one August 2012

{ 28. } Get a regular blog series up and running Blogger Spotlight

{ 29. } Interview one of my favorite big-wig bloggers

{ 30. } Attend a blogger conference Southern Blog Society Conference (2013, 2014, 2015)

I might not accomplish them all, but maybe I will be able to look back on this list in 5 years & smile at the memory of a fabulous decade!